Is He Really a First-Year?
"Is he really a first-year...?" Siul was genuinely starting to wonder.
With just two attacks, he had practically wiped out that entire horde of monsters. Even active-duty heroes would have found that no easy feat, yet a first-year who had only entered the academy a month ago had pulled it off.
Of course, Siul knew that there were always anomalies—individuals to whom common sense simply didn't apply. The captain of the 2nd Division, whom she had just requested support from, was an elite who had been evaluated as superior to active-duty heroes since his academy days. He was a monster who had subjugated a high-ranking monster single-handedly while still a student.
Looking at it that way, Yujin's latent power was within the realm of comprehension. Moreover, Yujin was a rising star drawing attention not just in Class 1-A, but across the entire first-year class. It wouldn't be strange for him to show exceptional performance. Still...
'But this is a bit...?'
As Class 1-A's vice-homeroom teacher, she had a rough grasp of her students' abilities and limits. Yujin was certainly outstanding, but he had never been this absurd. Even if his growth potential was limitless, he shouldn't have been at the level of turning dozens of monsters into charcoal in a single blow.
'Was he hiding his strength? Or did he really grow this much in such a short time?'
Supernatural abilities were strongly influenced by the mind. If one faced a crisis and achieved the mental breakthrough to overcome it, rapid growth was theoretically possible. Even so, wasn't this going a bit too far?
"Teacher Siul!"
Leaving a red trail behind him, Yujin ran over. He flinched, looking at Siul's torn face.
"...I will also help, even if my strength is meager."
"Ah..."
Siul hesitated, wondering if she should tell him to stand back like the other students. She couldn't let a student fight a high-ranking monster yet. It was too dangerous, and normally, their skills wouldn't support it. Stepping forward rashly would only lead to a futile death. But the power Yujin had just displayed was fully comparable to an active-duty hero. With this level of combat power... it was enough to face a high-ranking monster.
Siul's hesitation ended quickly. The high-ranking monster wasn't about to wait for them. The beast charged, letting out a bizarre shriek. Even with one of its legs dangling uselessly, its speed was still terrifying. Siul deactivated the Space Distortion that was protecting Class 1-A. Most of the monsters had already been annihilated by Yujin's attack, and while some survivors remained, the students could handle that much.
"Be careful! Focus strictly on support, okay?"
"Yes, leave it to me!"
No longer forced to waste her energy solely on defense, proper support had arrived. Siul exhaled a breath mixed with blood. The tables had turned. There was no longer any need to play purely on the defensive.
A monster that immature fledglings could never dare to face, a beast that would make even battle-hardened veterans click their tongues in dismay. Normally, one should retreat and wait for backup. If you didn't want to die trying to help, you had to keep your head down.
'...I can see it.'
But it was strange. Why could he see it so clearly? The monster's massive forepaw was reflected in Yujin's pupils. The trajectory of its swing was perfectly readable. He could keep up with its speed. Yujin threw himself to the side, dodging the forepaw.
Boom!
The ground exploded, scattering shards of debris amidst a cloud of dust.
'I can see them.'
The broken pieces bouncing chaotically. The high-ranking monster's movements leading into its next action.
'Was it always... this slow?'
No, it wasn't slow. On the contrary, it was incredibly fast. At this speed, even Leo would struggle to keep up. It was swift enough that Yujin would lose track of it if his focus wavered for even a second. But why did it feel so slow? Had he gotten faster? Or was it because he had seen something even faster, making this look slow by comparison?
'That mask... that girl who called herself Astaroth was much faster. It was hard to even follow her with my eyes.'
Compared to the girl in the Red Fox Mask, this high-ranking monster was nothing. Facing a monster classified as 'high-ranking' made him realize it even more—just how overwhelmingly powerful that girl was.
Someday, he would have to fight her again. He didn't know when, but he was certain it would happen. When that time came, he couldn't let Teacher Angelica and Lucia... no, he couldn't let everyone fall into danger again.
He dyed the Red Sword even redder. Having cast the Sun Sword twice, he had gotten the hang of it. Compressing the heat onto the blade and spinning it, he raised its cutting power to its absolute limit.
"Haaah!"
A red meteor dashed across the ground. Leaping forward with terrifying elasticity, Yujin's figure blurred, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■─────!!!!
The high-ranking monster charged, letting out a bizarre shriek. But before it could collide with Yujin, Siul's surprise attack—which bizarrely ignored the laws of physics—struck even faster.
A long wound ripped open, shattering scales. Normally, after swinging a sword, one would have to pull it back, but Siul skipped the recovery phase entirely. By distorting space, her sword was already back in her stance. As she slashed upward from below, the ground flipped, tearing the high-ranking monster's flesh to shreds.
Writhing in pain, the monster opened its mouth wide. A red heat source gathered between its hideous teeth. Just as it was about to unleash a torrent of flame that would incinerate Siul's upper body entirely—
Crack!
The Red Sword shattered the monster's teeth and pierced straight into its maw. Not stopping there, Yujin wrapped the flames gathering in its mouth around his blade, heating the Red Sword to an even more blistering temperature.
"Hup!"
Twisting his wrist, Yujin stabbed the roof of its mouth with the Red Sword. He intended to pierce straight through its head in an instant, but the terrifying strength of its jaw blocked his path. As the beast clamped its mouth shut, its shocking bite force tightly gripped Yujin's sword. Even though the blade must have been blisteringly hot, the monster ground its teeth harder, seemingly intending to snap the Red Sword in two.
Slice.
But focusing solely on Yujin was a fatal mistake. Siul lowered her body and slid forward, slashing at the dangling leg. Since it was already half-severed, she was able to cleanly lop it off this time. The high-ranking monster's body tilted heavily to one side. Startled, or perhaps due to the sheer agony, the monster's mouth opened slightly.
Not missing the opening, Yujin pulled out the Red Sword. He then struck downward, unleashing the flames still raging along the blade.
Screeech!
The scales were like heavy armor. Even with the enhanced cutting power of Yujin's sword, he couldn't slice through them in one go, resulting in a harsh, scraping sound. But its eyelids couldn't possibly be just as hard. Yujin thrust his blade straight into the monster's right eye.
■■■■──!
It was a short howl. It wasn't language, but Yujin could understand its meaning perfectly. It wasn't a brave roar. It was a scream of agony.
'I can do this.'
There was no need to be intimidated just because it was a high-ranking monster. He could win.
I watched the life-and-death struggle ahead from a safe distance.
Flames danced, broken fragments scattered, and a continuous barrage of explosions erupted. Yeah, there's no way I'm jumping in. Even if I ran in like a crazy person, I wouldn't die, but I don't want to get in the way.
Siul and Yujin were rapidly pushing the high-ranking monster into a corner. Fighting a high-ranking monster already... I have no idea how the story is going to unfold now. Just look at him. Yujin looks at least comparable to Siul now. He probably isn't truly on her level yet due to a lack of experience, but his growth rate is absolutely terrifying.
Ah, whatever. The grand plan I so carefully laid out is steadily crumbling. My plan to reproduce the events of the 'original novel' as closely as possible has officially been reduced to scrap paper. The knowledge I gained from reading the novel can't be fully trusted anymore, and what lies ahead is a complete mystery.
But that didn't mean all my future knowledge was useless. Yujin's ultimate move was exactly as I read, and Astaroth's personality was the same as I knew. In that case, wouldn't the characteristics of that giant lizard monster also be exactly as I knew?
I carefully watched the fight. Having recovered to some extent, Angelica joined the fray, instantly cornering the monster. Although Angelica only created and sent out a few knight golems, it was a death sentence for the beast, which was already struggling against Yujin and Siul alone.
Spears of rock pierced the monster's torso. As the knight golems surrounding the beast skewered it and sealed its movements, Siul struck down at the defenseless monster's neck.
Clang!
Perhaps because the scales on its neck were particularly tough, even Siul couldn't sever it in one go.
But it couldn't withstand consecutive attacks. Yujin's Red Sword drew a half-moon in the air. Striking down on Siul's sword with all his might, the scales finally split, and a sticky foam of blood sprayed out.
Thud.
The massive head fell to the ground. The twitching torso flailed its legs before going completely limp.
This was the end. The high-ranking monster had met its death. On the surface, at least.
'In the novel, they let their guard down thinking it was dead.'
Just as supernatural ability users have unique abilities in addition to outstanding physical capabilities, monsters also sometimes possess special powers. In the case of that lizard monster, it could evade death exactly once. Even if its neck was cut off and its body was turned into minced meat, it could treat its previous body as a 'shed skin' and escape death. Shedding—so to speak, an extra life.
In the novel, they felt relieved after killing it, only for the monster to shed its skin, revive, and almost escape the research facility. If that setting is still the same, that monster will revive soon.
"Mmm..."
I let out a soft hum and smiled, interlacing my fingers as I stretched my arms high above my head. A wonderful idea had just occurred to me.
Shall I show off my guts? In the most literal sense of the word.